Circa 1900 – 1915

A finely crafted Edwardian silver-plated desk inkstand by the distinguished English silversmith Mappin & Webb, one of Britain’s most celebrated luxury manufacturers. The elegant rectangular base is raised on four rounded bun feet and decorated with a refined beaded (pearled) border, a motif derived from neoclassical decorative vocabulary widely favored in late 19th- and early 20th-century design.

The inkstand is fitted with two square cut-glass inkwells, each topped with a silver-plated lid, flanking a gracefully arched central handle that allows the piece to be easily lifted and repositioned on the writing table. A recessed pen tray integrated into the base provides a convenient rest for dip pens or early fountain pens, reflecting the practical considerations of the period’s writing culture.

Stamped to the underside with the maker’s mark “Mappin & Webb” alongside the firm’s distinctive Prince’s Plume emblem, and numbered W9869, identifying the model within the company’s production catalog.

Founded in 1775, Mappin & Webb became one of Britain’s most prestigious luxury firms, renowned for its silverware, jewelry, and finely crafted decorative objects. The company later received royal appointments and supplied silver and presentation pieces to elite households throughout Britain and the Empire.

Desk accessories such as this inkstand were produced in the firm’s Sheffield workshops, where a long tradition of metalworking excellence had been established since the eighteenth century.